GAINING weight?

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blondiebonce
blondiebonce Posts: 47
in Health and Weight Loss
Hey guys.
Very disheartened atm. Basically, since starting on here just over a month ago, I've been eating within my calorie allowance (every day) and trying to exercise. I initially lost about 10lbs, and NOW I HAVE PUT ON ABOUT 3lb IN THE LAST WEEK.
I'm working hard, have little treats but eat as healthy as poss. Why would I GAIN? Is this water weight? I nearly ALWAYS eat more than 1200 (think i was under once?)
Please advise/reassure? haha
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Replies

  • now_or_never12
    now_or_never12 Posts: 849 Member
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    It's hard to tell if we can't see your diary.

    Do you track your sodium? Took much sodium isn't a good thing and frozen and processed foods are loaded with it. Do you drink enough water? Are you measuring your foods? Weighing when needed? Are you tracking every little thing? Do you double check the entries in the database before added them to your diary? Tons of things could be the cause of it.

    Is it around TOM for you? That can cause some women to gain up to 10lbs! If not more. Could be a reason. Have you changed your exercise?
  • mhelm2010
    mhelm2010 Posts: 2
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    I am doing the very same thing! It is so frustrating! I started off losing 10 lbs. and so far I've gained 1 lb back. I only drink water and I've been doing C25K for my exercise every other day. I just don't understand why the scale isn't showing all of my hard work!
  • blondiebonce
    blondiebonce Posts: 47
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    I've made my diary public now.

    I track everything, and if in doubt I over compensate. I read packets as well to have a good idea of what to expect on here.
    It may be I don't drink enough or too much salt- I've heard that can retain it.
    It isn't my TOM at the moment, but I do feel more bloated and lethargic than normal (just this week, not an ongoing thing)
    Haven't really changed exercise.

    One thing I will say, is I did eat a fair amount of ice cream a day or so before I noticed the change on the scales. I know this wasn't "a good idea" but I figured keeping it within my calorie allowance would be ok.

    I know fo' sure I haven't eaten an excess of 11000 calories this week!!!

    Thanks for replying :)
  • now_or_never12
    now_or_never12 Posts: 849 Member
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    Maybe try tracking sodium in your tracker? You'd be surprised at how much is in things! I looked at your diary for the last few days and sodium may be partially to blame. Drinking more water and increasing potassium can help counteract the effects of sodium.

    Try to eat a bit more. You normally only net about 1,000 so increasing may help a bit (kind of the opposite of what we've always been told about weight loss I know but I swear it works!).

    Maybe try switching up the foods you eat. It looks like you eat the same few things frequently. If you switch up your food and exercise it may help. Eat your exercise calories back too. You may feel lethargic because your body isn't getting enough nutrition.

    A bit of icecream shouldn't cause your weight to go up unless you ate a few thousand calories of it.
  • pdj1220
    pdj1220 Posts: 175
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    Yep, I would guess sodium is the culprit too. I know that in my case (I'm larger, so it shows up more) sodium can make a huge difference. Two weeks ago I had two days when I ended up around 4500 mgs sodium, and went way up on the scale. After being really careful and drinking a ton of water, I weighed 229 at 7:00 pm. At 8:00 am the next day (after peeing a lot!) I weighed 221. Eight pounds in thirteen hours!
  • nikkicancilla
    nikkicancilla Posts: 17 Member
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    Thanks this may give me an answer as to why Ive gained 6 pounds this week......Half term home with the kids, no exercise etc etc and lots of carbs ;-(

    Deffo back to tracking everything, back to the gym (went back today!! 910 calories gone) and cutting back on carbs...I need to get these last few pounds gone before my hols in 5 weeks!

    Good luck to everyone else on their weight loss journey - we will get there!
  • mcarter99
    mcarter99 Posts: 1,666 Member
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    It's just water, in all likelihood. Sugar can be a culprit. You very likely didn't inadvertently take in the 10,000+ calories you'd need to really gain 3 lbs. of fat in one week. Ignore it.
  • mmapags
    mmapags Posts: 8,934 Member
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    You didn't "gain" 3 lbs of anything but water. Sodium could be the culprit. Also, it seems you are eating under your calorie goal almost every day. That could be a factor also. It's fine to eat under a day or 2 per week but you can stall out or cause yourself other issues by consistently eating under your goal that already had a healthy deficit built in.
  • lil_pulp
    lil_pulp Posts: 701 Member
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    It looks like you might not be eating enough since you seem to have calories left over every day. It's counter-intuitive, I know...
  • meggonkgonk
    meggonkgonk Posts: 2,066 Member
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    You need to eat 1200 NET calories as your minimum. 1200 + Calories burned doing exercise. If you search the boards, there is a lot of information about this.
  • OSC_ESD
    OSC_ESD Posts: 752 Member
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    ~ The battle is over 90% in the kitchen ... your food choices will dictate your success ... make healthier choices and you will soon see a decline in your weight. Remain positive and don't allow the scale to ruin your goals. Losing weight isn't easy ... but being happy and remaining positive while doing it ... is !

    Swap out some of those carbs and sodium " stalkers " for more one ingredient foods ... add more proteins and feel fuller, longer.

    Best of luck ! You got this ! :flowerforyou:
  • RebelliousRibbons
    RebelliousRibbons Posts: 391 Member
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    Track sodium, and use a food scale for the most accurate measurements.

    Also, be careful that you're not overestimating your exercise cals.
  • jayrey72
    jayrey72 Posts: 11 Member
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    Sodium intake is definitely something to watch.

    Also, make sure you're drinking lots of water. If your water intake is too low, your body will retain water to protect itself.

    Your exercise looks good, so you might be building some muscle as well. I know that after I exercise pretty good, I ALWAYS will weigh more the next day. The buildup of lactic acid in the muscles is to blame. But it's a good thing - sore muscles means you're building "fat burners."
  • Cyndieann
    Cyndieann Posts: 152 Member
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    If you weren't active before this, then you're probably starting to build muscle. Don't forget that muscle is dense, it weighs more than fat, but it works to your advantage because it burns up your calories faster. A little weight gain from muscle development is a good thing, it will help you with consistant weight loss in the weeks when you don't get as much cardio as you would like.:smile:
  • mmapags
    mmapags Posts: 8,934 Member
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    If you weren't active before this, then you're probably starting to build muscle. Don't forget that muscle is dense, it weighs more than fat, but it works to your advantage because it burns up your calories faster. A little weight gain from muscle development is a good thing, it will help you with consistant weight loss in the weeks when you don't get as much cardio as you would like.:smile:

    FTR, you do develop your existing muscle tissue but you don't "build muscle" in a deficit unless you are one of 3 things: obese, things provides extra fuel for muscle building from fat stores, a new weight lifter in which case you will experience 'newbie gains" of a pound or 2 or you are an athelete returning to training from a layoff. The rest of us develop our existing muscle tissue in a deficit but grow no new muscle cells. So we don't really build muscle.
  • etvannoy
    etvannoy Posts: 1
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    Agreeing with Cindieann on this one. Building muscle is the number 1 reason for weight "gain" once you get into an excercise routine. Check with your doctor at your next visit about getting a proper BMI scored and if your blood labs show decrease in "bad" cholesterol and triglycerides, then the weight NUMBER need not be the focus for now.

    These forums are fine for support, but shouldn't be a substitute for real, professional information.
  • idziak04
    idziak04 Posts: 69
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    I would drink a BOAT LOAD of water over the next few days. It is probably just an excess of sodium causing the weight gain. Twice now, i have "gained" 2-3 pounds in a few days time. I drank alot of water those days and the "weight gain" disappeared within 24 hours. GL!
  • medennison123
    medennison123 Posts: 191 Member
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    whats is your exercise like?

    sodium is not the issue.

    3lbs in a week is not muscle. That kind of growth is imposable.

    could be some fat and some glycogen in you muscles(not a bad thing)
  • now_or_never12
    now_or_never12 Posts: 849 Member
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    I doubt it's muscle gain as that is really hard to do eating at a large deficit.

    Don't fret about the gain. Keep doing what you're doing, change things up every now and again so your body doesn't get used to it. Water I find helps a lot! The gain is a temp one.
  • Masterdo
    Masterdo Posts: 331 Member
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    The goal calories on MFP, once properly set, is something you should try to get close to everyday. If your goal, like it is right now, is 1500, then 1200 is 300 too low, and is not any better than 300 above. You will lose weight at your chosen pace while meeting your goal :)

    Other than that, well just remember that gaining weight is not any faster than losing it. If you take 3 pounds in 2 days, well it's not fat. Just like when you lose 3 pounds in 2 days :p

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